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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


2:^  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MSSO 

(716)  »73-4503 


7,.  4l? 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


GZl 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


D 


Couverture  endommagde 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  et/ou  pellicul^e 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couleur 


□    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  dtait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6ti  filmdes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplimentaires; 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  At6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sent  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  methods  normale  de  fil.-iage 
sont  indiqu^s  ci-dessous. 


I      I    Coloured  pages/ 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 


n    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaur^es  et/ou  pelliculdes 

r~y  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
LjlI    Pages  d6color6es,  tachetdes  ou  piqudes 

n    Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachdes 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  indgaie  de  i'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materia 
Comprend  du  matdriel  supplementaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


I     1   Showthrough/ 

r~~]    Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      1.  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I      I    Only  edition  available/ 


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Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuiliet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  filmdes  i  nouveau  de  fagon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmi  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


/ 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Th«  copy  filmtd  h«r«  has  b—n  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  icaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract^  spacifications. 


Original  capias  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  filmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copias  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion.  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  imprassion. 


Tha  last  racordad  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  ^»>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaira  film*  f ut  reproduit  grice  A  la 
g*nArositA  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Les  images  suivantas  ont  it*  raproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin.  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nattet*  de  l'exemplaira  film*,  at  en 
conformit*  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmaga. 

Les  exemplairas  originaux  dont  la  couvarture  en 
papier  est  imprimis  sont  filmis  en  commen^ant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  9n  terminant  soit  par  la 
darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d 'illustration,  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autras  exemplairas 
originaux  sont  filmis  an  commen^ant  par  la 
premiire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  at  an  terminant  par 
la  darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbols  y  signifie  "FIN  ". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  itre 
filmis  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich*.  il  est  film*  A  partir 
de  I'angle  supirieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nicessaire.  Las  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithoda. 


1 

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NORTHMEN    IN   AMERICA. 

985—1015. 


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THE 


DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA 


BY  THE 


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NORTHMEN. 

985—1015. 


A  DISCOURSE   DELIVERED  BEFORE   THE   XEW 

HAMPSHIRE   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY, 

APRIL   24,  1888. 


BY  THE  REV.  EDMUND  F.  SLAFTER,  D.  D., 

A  GOBBE8PONDINO  MKMDKR  OP  THE  SOCIETY,   HONORARY  MBJinER  OK  THE 
ROYAL  UIHTOUIC'AL  SOCIETY  OF  OREAT  BRITAIN,   ETC.,  KTC. 


CONCORD,  N.  H.  : 

PRIVATELY     PRINTED. 
1891. 


^    / 


frvSilj^-/  ,««•*.      ,v4.!.  '• 


REPRINTED    KROM    THB    PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    NEW    HAMPSHIRE    HISTORICAL 

HOC     \: 


T 


P^M 


.     . 


DISCOURSE. 


On  the  29th  (lay  of  October,  1887,3  statue  erected  to  the 
memory  of  Leif,  the  son  of  Erik,  the  discoverer  of  America, 
was  unveiled  in  the  city  of  Boston,  in  the  presence  of  a  large 
assembly  of  citizens.  The  statue  is  of  bronze,  i  little  larger 
than  life-size,  and  represents  the  explorer  f^nmling  upon  the 
prow  of  his  ship,  shading  his  eyes  with  his  hand,  and  gazing 
towards  the  west.  This  monument'  suggests  the  subject  to 
which  I  wish  to  call  your  attention,  viz.,  the  story  of  the  dis- 
covery of  this  continent  by  the  Scandinavians  nearly  nine  hun- 
dred years  ago. 

I  must  here  ask  your  indulgence  for  the  statement  of  ti  few 
preliminary  historical  facts  in  order  that  we  may  have  a  clear 
understanding  of  this  discovery. 

About  the  midd'e  of  the  ninth  century,  Harald  Haarfager,  or 
the  fair-haired,  came  to  the  throne  of  Norway.  He  was  a 
young  and  handsome  prince,  endowed  with  great  energy  of 
will  and  many  personal  attractions.  It  is  related  that  he  fell 
in  love  with  a  beautiful  princess.  His  addresses  were,  how- 
ever, coolly  rejected  with  the  declaration  that  when  he  became 
king  of  Norway  in  reality,  and  not  merely  in  name,  she  would 

» If  it  be  admitted,  as  it  is  almost  universally,  that  the  Scandinavians  came  to  this 
continent  in  the  last  part  of  the  tenth  or  the  early  part  of  the  eleventh  century,  it  is 
eminently  fitting  that  a  suitable  monument  should  mark  and  emphasize  the  event. 
And  it  seems  equally  fitting  that  it  should  be  placed  in  Boston,  the  metropolis  of  New 
England,  since  it  sin.ply  comn.omorates  the  event  of  their  coming,  but  is  not  intended 
to  indicate  their  land-fall,  or  the  place  of  their  temporary  abode. 


92S10 


Prxjfi  ^  N.  W.  History  Dept. 

PROVINCIAL.  LIBRARY 
VICTORIA,  B.  C. 


give  him  both  her  heart  and  her  hand.  This  admonition  was 
not  disregarded  by  the  young  king.  The  thirty-one  principal- 
ities into  which  Norway  was  at  that  time  divided  were  in  a 
few  years  subjugated,  and  the  petty  chieftains  or  princes  who 
ruled  over  them  became  obedient  to  the  royal  authority.  The 
despotic  rule,  however,  of  the  king  was  so  irritating  and 
oppressive  that  many  of  them  sought  homes  of  greater  freedom 
in  the  inhospitable  islands  of  the  northern  seas.  Among  the 
rest,  Iceland,  having  been  discovered  a  short  time  before,  was 
colonized  by  them.  This  event  occurred  about  the  year  S74. 
Notwithstanding  the  severity  of  the  climate  and  the  sterility  of 
the  soil,  the  cclony  rapidly  increased  in  numbers  and  wealth, 
and  an  active  commerce  sprung  up  with  the  mother  country, 
and  was  successfully  maintained.  At  the  end  of  ^i  century, 
they  had  pushed  their  explorations  still  farther,  and  Greenland 
was  discovered,  and  a  colony  was  planted  there,  which  con- 
tinued to  flourish  for  a  long  period. 

About  the  year  9S5,  a  young,  enterprising,  and  prosperous 
navigator,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  carry  on  a  trade  between 
Iceland  and  Norway,  on  returning  from  the  latter  in  the  sum- 
mer of  the  year,  found  that  his  father  had  left  Iceland  some 
time  befo-.e  his  arrival,  to  join  a  new  colony  which  had  been 
then  recently  planted  in  Greenland.  This  young  merchant, 
who  bore  the  name  of  Bjarni,  disappointed  at  not  finding  his 
father  in  Iceland,  determined  to  proceed  on  and  pass  the  com- 
ing winter  with  him  at  the  new  colony  in  Greenland.  Having 
obtained  what  information  he  could  as  to  the  geographical 
position  of  Greenland,  this  intrepid  navigator  accordingly  set 
sail  in  his  little  barque,  with  a  small  number  of  men,  in  an 
unknown  and  untried  sea,  guided  in  his  course  only  by  the 
sun,  moon,  and  other  heavenly  bodies.*  After  sailing  three 
days  they  entirely  lost  sight  of  land.     A  north  wind  sprung 

1  The  mariner's  compass  was  not  discovered  till  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  century. 


#* 


up,  accompanied  with  a  dense  fog,  which  utterly  shrouded  the 
heavens  from  their  view,  and   left  them  at  the  mercy  of  the 
winds  and  the  waves.     Thus  helpless,  they  were  borne  alono- 
for  many  days  in  an  open  and  tiackless  ocean,  they  knew  not 
whither.      At   length    the   fog    cleareil    away,    the    blue   sky 
appeired,  and    soon    after   they   came    in    sight  of  land.     On 
approaching  near  to  it,  they  observed  that  it  had  a  low,  undu- 
lating surface,  was  without   mountains,  and   was  thickly  cov- 
ered   with    wood.     It  was   obviously    not    tin    Greenland   for 
which  they   were  searching.     Bearing   away  and  leaving  the 
land  on   the  west,  after    sailing  two  days,  they  again  came  in 
sight  of  land.     This  was  likewise  flat  and  well  wooded,  but 
could  not  be  Greetdand,  as  that  had  been  described  to  them  as 
having   very    high    snow-capped    hills.      Turning   their    prow 
from  the  land  and  launching  out  into  the  open  sea,  after  a  sail 
of  three  days,  they  came  in  sigiit  of  another  country  having  a 
flat,   ••ocky  foreground,  and   mountains    beyond  with    ifce-clad 
summits.     This  was  unlike  Greenland  as  it  had  been  described 
to  them.     They  did   not  even  lower  their  sails.     They,  how- 
ever, subsequently  found  it  to  be  an    island.     Continuing  on 
their  course,  after  sailing  four  days  they  came  to  Greeidand, 
where  Bjarni  found  his  father,  with  whom  he  made  his  per- 
manent abode. 

This  accidental  discovery  of  lands  hitherto  unknown,  and 
farther  west  than  Greenlaml,  and  ditlering  in  important  features 
from  any  countries  with  which  they  were  familiar,  awakened 
a  very  deep  interest  wherever  the  story  was  rehearsed.  Bjarni 
was  criticised,  and  blamed  for  not  having  matle  a  thorough 
exploration  and  for  bringing  back  suc.i  a  meagre  account  of 
what  he  had  seen.  But  while  these  discoveries  were  the  fre- 
quent subject  of  conversation,  both  in  Norway  and  in  the  colo- 
nies of  Iceland  and  Greenland,  it  was  not  until  fifteen  years 
had  elapsed  that  any  serious  attempt  was  made  to  verify  the 


6 


statement  of  Bjarni,  or  to  secure  any  advantages  from  what  he 
had  discovered. 

About  the  year  looo,  Leif,  the  son  of  Erik,  an  early  colonist 
of  Greenland,  determined  to  conduct  an  expedition  in  search  of 
the  new  lands  which  had  been  seen  on  the  accidental  voyage  of 
Bjarni.  He  accordingly  fitted  out  a  ship,  and  manned  it  with 
thirty-five  men.  Shaping  their  course  by  the  direction  and 
advice  of  Bjarni,  their  first  discovery  was  the  country  which 
Bjarni  had  seen  last.  On  going  ashore  they  saw  no  grass,  but 
what  appeared  to  be  a  plain  of  flat  stones  stretching  back  to 
icy  mountains  in  the  distance.  They  named  it  flat-stone  land, 
or  Helluland. 

Again  proceeding  on  their  voyage,  ;hey  came  to  another 
land  which  was  flat,  covered  with  wood,  with  low,  white, 
sandy  shores,  answering  to  the  second  country  seen  by  Bjarni. 
Having  landed  and  made  a  personal  inspection,  they  named 
the  place  woodland,  or  Markland. 

Sailing  once  more  into  the  open  sea  with  a  north-east  wind, 
at  the  end  of  two  days  they  came  to  a  third  country,  answering 
to  that  which  Bjarni  had  first  seen.  They  landed  upon  an 
island  situated  at  the  mouth  of  a  river.  They  left  their  ship  in 
a  sound  between  the  island  and  the  river.  The  water  was 
shallow,  and  the  receding  tide  soon  left  their  ship  on  the  beach. 
As  soon,  however,  as  their  ship  was  lifted  by  the  rising  tide, 
they  floated  it  into  the  river,  and  from  thence  into  a  lake,  or  an 
expansion  of  the  river  above  its  mouth.  Here  they  landed  and 
constructed  temporary  dwellings,  but  having  decided  to  pass 
the  winter,  they  proceeded  to  erect  buildings  for  their  more 
ample  accommodation.  They  found  abundance  of  fish  in  the 
waters,  the  climate  mild,  and  the  nature  of  the  country  such 
that  they  thought  cattle  would  not  even  require  feeding  or 
shelter  in  winter.  They  observed  that  day  and  night  were 
more  equal  than  in  Greenland  or  Iceland.     The  sun  was  above 


the  horizon  on  the  shortest  day,  if  we  may  accept  the  interpre- 
tation of  learned  Icelandic  scholars  S  from  half  past  seven  in 
the  morning  till  half  past  four  in  the  afternoon.  Having  com- 
pleted their  house-building,  they  devoted  the  rest  of  the  season 
to  a  careful  and  systematic  exploration  of  the  country  about 
them,  not  venturing,  however,  so  far  that  they  could  not  return 
to  their  homes  in  the  evening. 

In  this  general  survey  they  discovered  grapes  growing  in 
great  abundance,  and  timber  of  an  excellent  quality  and  highly 
valued  in  the  almost  woodless  region  from  whence  they  came. 
With  these  two  commodities  they  loaded  their  ship,  and  in  the 
spring  returned  to  Greenland.  Leif  gave  to  the  country,  vhich 
he  had  thus  discovered  and  explored,  a  name,  as  he  said,  after 
its  "qualities,"  and  culled  it  Vineland. 

The  next  voyage  was  made  by  Thorvald,  a  brother  of  Leif, 
probably  in  the  year  ioo3.     The  same  ship  was  employed,  and 

>This  statement  rests  on  the  interpretation  of  Professor  Finn  Magnusen,  for  which 
see  "  The  Voyages  of  the  Northmen  to  America,"  Prince  Socely's  ed.,  pp.  34,  126.  Bof  • 
ton,  1877.  The  general  description  of  the  climate  and  the  products  of  the  soil  are  .n 
harmony  with  this  interpretation,  but  it  has  nevertheless  been  questioned.  Other 
Icelandic  writers  differ  from  him,  and  make  the  latitude  of  the  land-fall  of  Leif  at 
49°  55'i  instead  of  41°  43'  10",  as  computed  by  Magnusen. 

This  later  interpretation  is  by  Professor  Gustav  Storm.  Vide  The  Finding  of 
Wineland  the  Good,  by  Arthur  Middleton  Reeves,  pp.  181-185.  London,  1890.  These 
interpretations  are  wide  apart.  Both  writers  are  represented  to  be  able  and  thorough 
scholars.  When  doctors  disagree,  who  shall  decide?  The  sciolists  will  doubtless  range 
themselves  on  different  sides,  and  fight  it  out  to  the  bitter  end. 

The  truth  is,  the  chronology  of  that  period  in  its  major  and  minor  applications  was 
exceedingly  indefinite.  The  year  when  events  occurred  is  settled,  when  settled  at  all, 
with  great  diflficulty ;  and  it  is  plain  that  the  divisions  of  the  day  were  loose  and  indefi- 
nite. At  least,  they  could  only  be  approximately  determined.  In  the  absence  of  clocks, 
watches,  and  chronometers,  there  could  not  be  anything  like  scientific  accuracy,  and 
the  attempt  to  apply  scientific  principles  to  Scandinavian  chronology  only  renders  con- 
fusion still  more  confused.  The  terms  which  they  used  to  express  the  divisions  of  the 
day  were  all  indefinite.  One  of  them,  for  example,  was  hirdis  rismdl,  which  means 
the  time  when  the  herdsmen  took  their  breakfast.  This  was  sufficiently  definite  for 
the  practical  purposes  of  a  simple,  primitive  people ;  but  as  the  breakfast  hour  of  a 
people  is  always  more  or  less  various,  hirdis  rismdl  probably  covered  a  period  from  one 
to  three  hours,  and  therefore  did  not  furnish  the  proper  data  for  calculating  latitude. 
Any  meaning  given  by  translators  touching  exact  hours  of  the  day  must,  therefore,  be 
taken  cum  grano  saiis,  or  for  only  what  it  is  worth. 


I 


8 


was  manned  with  thirty  men.  They  repaired  at  once  to  the 
booths  or  temporary  houses  constructed  by  Leif,  where  they 
passed  three  winters,  subsisting  chiefly  upon  fish,  which  they 
took  in  the  waters  near  them.  In  the  summers  they  explored 
the  country  in  various  directions  to  a  considerable  distance. 
They  discovered  no  indications  of  human  occupation  except  on 
an  island,  where  they  found  a  corn-shed  constructed  of  wood. 
The  second  year  they  discovered  native  inhabitants  in  great 
numbers,  armed  with  missiles,  and  having  a  vast  flotilla  of  boats 
made  of  the  skins  of  animals.  With  these  natives  they  came 
into  hostile  conflict,  in  which  Thorvald  received  a  wound  of 
which  he  subsequently  died.  He  was  buried  at  a  spot  selected 
by  himself,  and  crosses  were  set  up  at  his  head  and  at  his  feet. 
After  another  winter,  having  loaded  their  ship  with  grapes  and 
vines,  the  explorers  returned  to  Greenland. 

The  death  of  Thorvald  was  a  source  of  deep  sorrow  to  his 
family,  and  his  brother  .Thorstein  resolved  to  visit  Vineland  and 
bring  home  his  body.  He  accordingly  embarked  in  the  same 
ship,  with  twenty-five  chosen  men,  and  his  wife  Gudrid.  The 
voyage  proved  unsuccessful.  Having  spent  the  whole  summer 
in  a  vain  attempt  to  find  Vineland,  they  returned  to  Greenland, 
and  during  the  winter  Thorstein  died,  and  the  next  year  his 
widow  Gudrid  was  married  to  Thorfinn  Karlsefni,  a  wealthy 
Icelandic  merchant. 

In  the  year  1007,  three  ships  sailed  for  Vineland,  one  com- 
manded by  Thorfinn  Karlsefni,  one  by  Bjarni  Grimolfson,  and 
the  third  by  Thorvard,  the  husband  of  Freydis,  the  half-sister 
of  Leif,  the  son  of  Erik.  There  were  altogether  in  the  three 
ships,  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  and  cattle  of  various  kinds 
taken  with  them  perhaps  for  food,  or  possibly  to  be  useful  in 
case  they  should  decide  to  make  a  permanent  settlement.  They 
attempted,  however,  nothing  beyond  a  careful  exploration  of  the 
country,  which  they  found  beautiful  and  productive,  its  forests 


aboundii.g  in  wild  game,  its  rivers  well  stocked  with  fish,  and 
the  soil  producing  a  spontaneous  growth  of  native  grains.  They 
bartered  trifles  with  the  natives  for  their  furs,  but  they  were 
able  to  hold  little  intercourse  with  them.  The  natives  were  so 
exceedingly  hostile  that  the  lives  of  the  explorers  were  in  con- 
stant  peril,  and  they  consequently,  after  some  bloody  skirmishes, 
abandoned  all  expectation  of  making  a  permanent  settlement. 
At  the  end  of  three  years,  Karlsefni  and  his  voyagers  returned 
to  Greenland. 

In  the  year  ion  Freydis,  the  half-sister  of  Leif,  inspired  by 
the  hope  of  a  profitable  voyage,  entered  into  a  partnership  with 
two  merchants,  and  passed  a  winter  in  Vineland.  She  was  a 
bold,  masculine  woman,  of  unscrupulous  character,  and  desti- 
tute of  every  womanly  quality.  She  fomented  discord,  con- 
trived the  assassination  of  her  partners  in  the  voyage,  and  early 
the  next  spring,  having  loaded  all  the  ships  with  timber  and 
other  commodities,  she  returned  with  rich  and  valuable  cargoes 
for  the  Greenland  market. 

Such  is  the  story  of  the  discovery  of  America  in   the  last 

years  of  the  tenth  and  the  early  years  of  the  eleventh  centu- 
ries. 

These  four  expeditions  of  which  I  have  given  a  very  brief 
outline,  passing  over  many  interesting  but  unimportant  details, 
constitute  all  of  which  there  remains  any  distinct  and  well 
defined  narrative.  Other  voyages  may  have  been  made  during 
the  same  or  a  later  period.  Allusions  are  found  in  early  Scan- 
dinavian writings,  which  may  confirm  the  narratives  which  we 
have  given,  but  add  to  them  nothing  really  essential  or  impor- 
tant. 

The  natural  and  pertinent  question  which  the  historical 
student  has  a  right  to  ask  is  this  :  On  what  evidence  does  this 
story  rest  ?  What  reason  have  we  to  believe  that  these  voyages 
were  ever  made .'' 


10 

I  will  endeavor  to  make  ih- 
P'-in  and  clear  as  possible.  '  '"  ""'"  '"'l'"""  « 

There  are  two  kind,  of  evidence  h„     u-  . 
events  may  be  established  „.''""  .""^  """'='•  -mote  historical 
««ed  upon  as  con.ai„i„;  .  ut'b  m'!;'' "'"'■"^'-  -"-"  «n  be 
-nes,  and,  secondly,  hislrim  "'^  "'  ""  ■•'"'^'<' 

'-■•ng  and  confirmLg  the  vlr.  "'"' "■"■■""' ■•""'■ 
»V  be  established  by  one  of  tb  ,  "'"■■■'""■"•  ^""'  -"'» 
bj-  both  in  concurrence  ""'"  '"'""•''-'-  "'"ne,  or 

-".:Ciri:ici\:::::;--p-e.ocer..in 

-  fo-nd.     What  are  these  and        v  '"'"^'  "'^-""i- 

do  they  challenge  our  belief"       '  """"^^-  "•"  «>  what  extent 

.  ".rrr^rrsuTr -'■■•---'" - 

Danish  or  Icelandic  tonguthenrr'  ""  """''  "^  "''' 
'»0.  .he  vernacular  of  the  ; .p  o  J t". '"  '"''•"  """  '^— " 

-'«"  language,  and  otZ^Z^:'  T  '""  ^="'"''''  ">  " 
-'«  »o.  at  that  time  be  ..ZJITZT'"''  '"'''- 
language  an  oral  literature  of  „  „.    ,  "^  "''"  '"  ">»' 

'-•  I.  had  its  poetry,  ^rro m,'"  '""  '"'"-""^  '-arac 
••'»  "-'ory.  It  :,s  neve^,,:;::  r  '"  '^''"""  "■™°'-'  and 
•he  memory,  and  handed  down  fror""'"'  "  ""'  '""'^  '" 
In  distinguisbed  and  opulent  famU  *'""'"'°"  '"  '"°'^"- 

,    -mori.eand  rehearse^    s  r^Tj:"  "^  ™P%ed  to 
as  a  part  of  the  entertainment    1'      "''°"'"  ^reat  occasions, 
»W'fully  put  ,„,,,„„  and  ;„  isb  AoTT"'  ""'"■  '""'  "- 
'he  exploits  and  acbievcmentof  1       "     '"  "="^''  '''"""S  '° 
«ves  were  called  sagas  and   h         T  ''"""°"-     '^'"^  "arra- 
'-en.  were  called  sa^am  n      iTj'"  r^'""  ""  '^'^■> 
after  Realleged  discovery  of     ir:  l'""'":'  ""^  "'■'^-"ears 
"egan   of  committing  Icela L'    r    '""'       ■"■'  "'  """'" 
--ent  was  di  Jult  to:::-  :/--  ^-.ble 


El 


11 

and  expensive,  and  only  a  few  documents  of  any  kind  at  first 
were  put  into  written  form.  But  in  the  thirteenth  century- 
written  sagas  mul  'plied  to  vast  numbers.  They  were  deposited 
in  convents  and  in  other  places  of  safety.  Between  1650  and 
17x5,  these  old  Icelandic  parchments  were  transferred  to  the 
libraries  of  Stockholm  and  Copenhagen.  They  were  subse- 
quently carefully  read,  and  classified  by  the  most  competent 
and  erudite  scholars.  Among  them  two  sagas  were  found 
relating  to  discoveries  far  to  the  southwest  of  Greenland,  the 
outlines  of  which  I  have  given  you  in  the  preceding  pages» 
The  earliest  of  these  two  sagas  is  supposed  to  have  been  written 
by  Hauk  Erlendsson,  who  died  in  1334.  Whether  he  copied  it 
from  a  previous  manuscript,  or  took  the  narrative  from  oral 
tradition,  cannot  be  determined.  The  other  was  written  out  in 
its  present  form  somewhere  between  1387  and  1395.  It  was 
probably  copied  from  a  previous  saga  not  known  to  be  now 
in  existence,  but  which  is  conjectured  to  have  been  originally 
written  out  in  the  twelfth  century.  These  documents  are  pro* 
nounced  by  scholars  qualified  to  judge  of  the  character  of 
ancient  writings  to  be  authentic,  and  were  undoubtedly  believed 
by  the  writers  to  be  narratives  of  historical  truth. 

They  describe  with  great  distinctness  the  outlines  of  our 
eastern  coast,  including  soil,  products,  and  climate,  beginning 
in  the  cold,  sterile  regions  of  the  north  and  extending  down  tO' 
the  warm  and  fruitful  shores  of  the  south.  It  is  to  be  observed 
that  there  is  no  improbability  that  these  alleged  voyages  should 
have  been  made.  That  a  vessel,  sailing  from  Iceland  and  bound 
for  Greenland,  should  be  blown  from  its  course  and  drifted  to 
the  coast  of  Xova  Scotia  or  of  New  England,  is  an  occurrence 
that  might  well  be  expected  ;  and  to  believe  that  such  an  acci- 
dental voyage  should  be  followed  by  other  voyages  of  discovery, 
demands  no  extraordinary  credulity. 

The  sagas,  or  narratives,  in  which  the  alleged  voyages  are 


M?" 


12 

<l«cril,ed,  were  „riae„  o„,  ,,  „,  ,         , 

"   "-.'red  ,e„.   before   t^    Zt  """■""'""''' '"'■' 

"-e  .'"  .he  West  IndieV  c   .,     e  „  TT  ^'  ^"'""""^  -« 
""  AHa„„c  shores.     The  wr^  If  ,     '"  """°"  °"^  "o""- 
-«.o„  derived  from  other  sol''  '"*'"  ''"  ""  "'f<>r- 
f"^*"f.he,-rs,or,.     Tobe     r;:;.""'-"  '°  '""■><'  "P  *e 
"'.ves  in  their  general  o„„i„  J^  'J  ,*■•  "«'--™"'  of  the  „,r. 
;^-  was  accidental,  „  .ere  Xt;  f'^  "'  "'  """  ""- 
J'-  ccncidences  are  so  „a„v,  a^  he  e    """'  "  '""'°''""- 
«on,  anvthing  that  ,he  authors  h,.  "  '°  '''  ''"'"ved 

-'■«'.  .herhad  a,.,  Know    l^'Tr'"'  "- ^een,  or  of 
-o- reasonable  to  accept  .he  t'rrl,  ""'""  '"'-  -" 

«>™,  we  mus.  on  .he  „„.  "'"y  "^  ">"  records.     If  we  reiect 
^"  '"e  civi,i.ed  peop,esr.;r::;'"^^^>«  "•'  -^'^  '■■■«-    o 
""W-d  in  a„  cases  n,ore  „   iel    "Tr'"'  """"■^  "^  "«" 

In  their  genera,  scope  .he  I^        ,    '"'■°"  """"""i""- 
f-  "een  accepted  h,  th    ^s^  t;/  ""  """»«-  "^ "-  sagas 

'°"ca,  students,  who  have  gl';"  "^"^  "^''^"'"""'^  <>'- 
scientious  studv.  ""  '"''Je"  ireful  and  con- 

But  wlien  we  descenj  . 
■"-™».,.„,J"""°^ -"■■-'— •"'Po-nt  to 

ca.se.    In  writing  a  memnir  ^*  1      ;  '^'^'^ 'sno  evidencp  «,!,,♦  °y""sknowI. 

leagues  beyond  Tile  that  ^h       >    '  ''"'''  '^''' '"  Febrrv  .  ""°"^  ^''  P^Pers 

B-tol  earned  on  I    i^t;  '   "f  ^"^  ^^  '-««  as  ^  ^  J'  f  t -"^^  a  hundred         - 
^"d  he  speaks  also  of  the ti^hT;    '"'  '"^  ^^^  ^'^^^  "e  wa   there  '  '^"^"^'^  ^^°"> 

^o"thern  limit  of  thU     ,    ^.   "^^'-     ^"  "'^  same  naraZ  u  ^'  "°*  ^^°"n  over  • 

Beyond  these  act,  the  '       '  '^  ''°  '^^"^  «'e  equato/  w    ".  ?  "'  '"'"^^'^  *"«*  *!' 
t^at  Co^t„„husrara^a:;r:"''''"  ^°"'=''-  -Sma  S  "'!?"'^-  !*  ---^  Iceiand 
subject  whatever.     Therei         '"  """"""ication  with  the  n^.-        ''  "  "°  ^^'dence 
°f  H'e  voyages  of  the  N    m   "°  P'"''^'""'^  "'at  he  sought  „    T""  °^  ^"'^"^  ""  any 
father  may  be  found   nst'"!"  '"  '''^  •^°"'"'-t-    S  na"  "'^r''  ^"^  '"^^-ation 

---^enderi;':^--;-W^^ 


18 

the  general  drift  and  import  of  the  narratives,  we  find  it  diffi- 
cult, nay,  I  may  say  impossible,  to  accept  them  fully  and  with 
an  unhesitating  confidence.  Narratives  that  have  come  down 
to  us  on  the  current  of  oral  tradition  are  sure  to  be  warped  and 
twisted  from  their  original  form  and  meaning.  Consciously  or 
unconsciously  they  are  shaped  and  colored  more  or  less  by  the 
several  minds  through  which  they  have  passed.  No  one  can 
fail  to  have  witnessed  the  changes  that  have  grown  up  in  the 
same  story,  as  repeated  by  one  and  another  in  numerous  in- 
stances within  his  own  observation.  The  careful  historian 
exercises,  therefore,  great  caution  in  receiving  what  comes  to 
him  merely  in  oral  tradition.' 

We  must  not,  however,  forget  that  the  sagamen  in  whose 
memories  alone  these  narratives  were  preserved  at  least  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years,  and  not  unlikely  for  more  than  three  hun- 
dred, were  professional  narrators  of  events.  It  was  their 
office  and  duty  to  transmit  to  others  what  they  had  themselves 
received.  Their  professional  character  was  in  some  degree  a 
guarantee  for  the  preservation  of  the  truth.  But  nevertheless 
it  was  impossible  through  a  long  series  of  oral  narrations,  that 
errors  should  not  creep  in  ;  that  the  memory  of  some  of  them 
should  not  fail  at  times  ;  and  if  it  did  fail  there  was  no  authority 
or  standard  by  which  their  errors  could  be  corrected.  More- 
over it  is  probable  that  variations  were  purposely  introduced 
here  and  there,  in  obedience  to  the  sagaman's  conceptions  of 
an  improved  style  and  a  better  taste.  What  variations  took 
place  through  the  failure  of  the  memory  or  the  conceit  of  the 

>  It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  most  writers  who  have  attempted  to  estimate  the 
value  of  the  sagas  as  historical  evidence  have  ignored  the  fact,  that  from  a  hundred  and 
fifty  to  three  hundred  years  they  existed  only  in  oral  tradition,  handed  down  from  one 
generation  to  another,  subject  to  the  changes  which  are  inevitable  in  oral  statements. 
They  are  treated  by  these  critics  as  they  would  treat  scientific  documents,  a  coast  or 
geodetic  survey,  or  an  admiralty  report,  in  which  lines  and  distances  are  determined  by 
the  most  accurate  instruments,  and  measurements  and  records  are  made  simultaneously. 
It  is  obvious  that  their  premises  must  be  defective,  and  consequently  their  deductions 
are  sure  to  be  erroneous. 


'S 


14 

sagamen,  whether  few  nr 

-I.  «n.l  a,,^  ,„-ee,^  e.,.,c.  „en„i„  '  "        Z"^"'  '""'■'«  '«  cri,,'. 
""'   be  ,ucc«.fu„,   „,„„„:"^;    J°''»"""-e«„,-„„,,,„. 

"""  'o  be  .e^ove,,,  ove.„„,:;;'"  ""   '"""""'   '> "■ 

We  m,,y  s.»,e,  .herefore,  wi.ho,,,  T  ■'  """"''  P-'icula™. 

""d  prominent  'e„,n,es.     Sot  w"  «  I     ""  «^"""'  """-es 
0"r  foothold.  "^  "  'J"'"'»an,ls,  „nd  are  „„,  ,„,^  ^^ 

The  question  liere  n-,h.™n 
'«-  ">e  ..,„.  cannot  be'    C^^r;  ^■•--  '^ '"  """or  particn. 

;l-;fy  .he  countHe,  discoC X?  '"r""  '"^■"  -"  - 
Northmen  ?  ™'  "'"'  'he  places  visited  b^  the 

In    answer  to   this   verv   n,-, 
««°''ling  to  the  narrative  of  tri   '"''"'"^'  '    ""^'^^  ""<, 
•>    Scandinavian  scholars,  the  L  f ''  """  ""  '"'-P-Wion 
O'-overed  after  leaving  Gree  ,a!d  ,  '^  "'"'  '"=  "Plorer. 

;-  'o  NcwfoundianI  wit  :,;'';::^=^;" -^'^  «™era,  feat, 
f""'   -d   i.s   mountains    in   tie    Tt         '  '''   '"^''^   -- 
an^er,  ,„  Nova  Scotia,  „i,|,  ■'    ,    *-«'°""<'.     The  second 
coast,  and  its  white,  sand,  clifls  LdT'  T"'  ''^  '°"'  "-' 
-ers  to  New  England  i^  teLra^      "'""■     ^'^  ""'^  a„- 
°f  ««  »",  -he  ftat,  undulatir;:    "•  ''™"'^'  ''"'"■"■°- 
■".apparent  distance  fron,  G:!n ^  d".h     ,'"^  '°''""''  -" 
P°.".  from  which  these  vovages  Of  ^"'^  "   "-''"»- 

The  statements  of  the  saT  '"'■^  '""=  ""de- 

S^eral  features  of  our  Ada!!  """'"^  "''*  ^°  ™»"^°f'be 
P"babilit„  not  indeed  rts    go  TT  '""'  '"'^^  '^  »  -<>". 
»"ch  certainty,  as  belongs  to  11     """'"'«•■«-„,  but  to  a: 
-  "is-or,,  that  the  Vin'la  dTf    '   m'"  "'^  ''"'°<'  "^ "-Ht- 
O"  our  American  Atlantic  co    .     Of  ^I  I"""  ™^  '°'"™'- 

"f  th.s  there  ,s  little  room  for 


.■'«18S8J»a(jtiB»„., 


■«"15«»I».»«.0»._ 


16 


doubt.  But  when  we  go  beyond  this  there  is  absolutely  no 
certainty  whatever.  The  local  descriptions  of  tiie  sagas  are 
all  general  and  indefinite  Tiiey  identify  nothing.  When  they 
speak  of  an  island,  a  cape,  a  river,  or  a  bay,  they  do  not  give  us 
any  clue  to  the  locality  where  the  said  island,  or  cape,  or  river,  or 
bay  is  situated.  The  whole  coast  of  New  England  and  of  the 
English  Provinces  farther  east  is  serrated  with  capes  and  bays 
and  river-inlets,  and  is  likewise  studded  with  some  hundreds 
of  islands.  It  would  be  exceedingly  interesting,  indeed  a  great 
achievement,  if  we  could  clearly  fix  or  identify  the  land-full  of 
Leif,  the  Scandinavian  explorer,  and  point  out  the  exact  spot 
where  he  erected  his  houses  and  passed  the  winter. 

The  key  to  this  identification,  if  any  exists,  is  plainly  the 
description  of  the  place  as  given  in  the  sagas.  If  we  find  in 
the  sagas  the  land-fall  of  Leif,  the  place  where  tiie  Scandina- 
vians landed,  so  fully  described  that  it  can  be  clearly  distin- 
guished from  every  other  place  on  our  coast,  we  shall  then 
have  accomplished  this  important  historical  achievement.  Let 
us  examine  this  description  as  it  stands  in  these  ancient  docu-  ' 
ments. 

Leaving  Markland,  they  were,  says  the  saga,  "  two  days  at 
sea  before  they  saw  land,  and  they  sailed  thither  and  came  to  an 
island  which  lay  to  the  eastward  of  the  land."  Here  they  landed 
and  made  observations  as  to  the  grass  and  the  sweetness  of  the 
dew.  "After  that,"  continues  the  saga,  "  they  went  to  the  ship, 
and  sailed  into  a  sound,  which  lay  between  the  island  and  a 
ness  (promontory),  which  ran  out  to  the  eastward  of  the  land; 
and  then  steered  westwards  past  the  ness.  It  was  very  shallow 
at  ebb  tide,  and  their  ship  stood  up,  so  that  it  was  far  to  see 
from  the  ship  to  the  water. 

"  But  so  much  did  they  desire  to  land,  that  they  did  not  give 
themselves  time  to  wait  until  the  water  again  rose  under  their 
ship,  but  ran  at  once  on  shore,  at  a  place  where  a  river  flows 


16 
out  of  a  Jake  •  K,  * 

broug...  up  fro.  .,„.  ,Hip  „,;,;  ;'•«"" "»-  c..  „„e,,o.,  :„„ 

Aft"^  "".  .hey  ,o„k  council  ;.        •,"""  ""•"=  ">"»  >^^>'^. 
I"  th-  brief  c.x,r„c.„.e        h"  1  .  "'"  ""''  '-«=  '.o,„e,." 

-..-».  .,,ich„erc  occupied  LhIT""'  "'  "'«"<'  '"^ 
■"  '"bsequen,  years.  ^  '"'""'"^'  "'»'  V  other  explorer. 

We  shall  observe  llv,f ,      n 

"'  "■=  -".h  of  a  Ht:.""v^:: ".:  "'-"'"''■'  -  '^^ 

™»11,  whether  it  „as  r„„„j  I  "  ""=  ''''""''  «"»  large  or 
high  or  low,  „e  are  no.  Zo  ^^  i";'  "'-^^'>™.  "-<,,  „aLw, 
"  wa  have  „o  further  description       J  '""'''^  ""  '"'""''•  ""^  of 

Their  ship  „„  anchoredt     .  "''"*"  "'•"-'- 

'"»  ^''™'  -d  a  pro^'Zv  or!      '""^  ""'  '  -'<  ^'ween 
"-  -stward.     The  bread*  l       T      '"""  "'""'  ""  -'  "> 
--,  or  a.  W  „a.er,  is  not  g  ve;'^"'  "'  "'  -"""  "<  high 
covenng  a  vast  expanse,  or  i,  1!,         ""^  '""'=  ''^'^n  broad, 
-<- within  a  few  »,;„::'  o7  "^^  "-"  ver/s™„„,  en,.' 
shallow  piece  of  „,„,_  ^         ^  '     '    ""s  si,nply  a  sound,  a 

'"l^-     Of  its  character  we  knoJZ  ""  "'""'"'  "'  '<>- 

Then  we  have  a  „w      wT    ,       '*  """■=  "'«"=ver. 
;™ll  one,  long  „,  short.wiro!  "  ''  ""'  "  '"'«'  *"  -  " 
;^^esh  water  or  tida,  streLl    'J^r^^'.^rP  "  ^'«'W,  a 
know  of  the  river  is  .ha,  .^rshin    ""'  •"'°™=''-     All  we 
«"Ten.  at  least  at  high  tide.  ^  ""'''  ^  ""'^ei  „p   i„ 

The  river  flowed  out  of  »  /  ;i 
'h=  '^ke  is  given.    ,.  „,,^  ,';J''^^;  ^°  f"«her  description  of 
^bave  been  a  very  s™i,  on/    j! ''"■■^\'""'^  "' -«-.  "r  it 

-la.ge.ent  or  expansion  of  .he  ril"""      "  '^^  °"'^  - 
'"^  --ing  i„  „,,^^^  ,^  ;  ;ve  .  or  ,.  ™,  ,„,,  ,^^_^  ^ 

"■"'•  """8  »"<)  falling  „i.,, 


'**<. 


17 


the  tides,  and  the  river  only  the  chanitel  of  its  incoming  and 
receding  waters. 

On  the  borders  of  this  lake,  or  bay,  or  enlargement  of  the 
river,  as  the  case  may  have  been,  they  built  their  houses; 
whether  on  the  right  or  left  shore,  whether  near  the  outlet, 
or  miles  away,  we  know  not. 

It  is  easy  to  see  how  difficult,  how  impossible,  it  is  to  identify 
the  landing-place  and  temporary  abode  of  the  Northmen  on 
our  coast  from  this  loose  and  indefinite  description  of  the 
sagas. 

In  the  nearly  nine  hundred  years  which  have  passed  since 
the_  discovery  of  this  continent  by  these  northern  explorers, 
it  would  be  unreasonable  not  to  suppose  that  very  great  changes 
have  taken  place  at  the  mouth  of  the  rivers  and  tidal  bays  along 
our  Atlantic  coast.  There  is  probably  not  a  river's  mouth  or  a 
tidal  inlet  on  our  whole  eastern  frontier,  which  has  not  been 
transformed  in  many  and  important  features  during  this  long 
lapse  of  time.  Islands  have  been  formed,  and  islands  have 
ceased  to  exist.  Sands  have  been  drifting,  shores  have  been 
crumbling,  new  inlets  have  been  formed,  and  old  ones  have 
been  closed  up.  Nothing  is  more  unfixed  and  changeable  than 
the  shores  of  estuaries,  and  of  rivers  where  they  flow  into  the 
ocean. 

But  even  if  we  suppose  that  no  changes  have  taken  place 
in  this  long  lapse  of  time,  there  are,  doubtless,  between  Long 
Island  Sound  and  the  eastern  limit  of  Nova  Scotia,  a  great  num- 
ber of  rivers  with  all  the  characteristics  of  that  described  by  the 
sagas.  Precisely  the  same  characteristics  belong  to  the  Taun- 
ton, the  Charles,  the  Merrimack,  the  Piscataqua,  the  Kennebec, 
the  Penobscot,  the  Saint  Croix,  and  the  St.  John.  All  these 
rivers  have  one  or  more  islands  at  their  mouth,  and  there  are 
abundant  places  near  by  where  a  ship  might  be  stranded  at  low 
tide,  and  in  each  of  these  rivers  there  are  expansions  or  bays 


18 

from  which  they  flow  into  the  ocean.*  And  there  are,  probably, 
twenty  other  less  important  rivers  on  our  coast,  where  the  same 
conditions  may  likewise  be  found.  What  sagacious  student  of 
history,  what  experienced  navigator,  or  what  learned  geogra- 
pher has  the  audacity  to  say  that  he  is  able  to  tell  us  near  wnich 
of  these  rivers  the  Northmen  constructed  their  habitations, 
and  made  their  temporary  abode  !  The  identification  is  plainly 
impossible.  Nothing  is  more  certain  than  the  uncertainty  that 
enters  into  all  the  local  descriptions  contained  in  the  Ice- 
landic sagas.  In  the  numerous  explorations  of  those  early 
navigators,  there  is  not  a  bay,  a  cape,  a  promontory,  or  a 
river,  so  clearly  described,  or  so  distinctly  defined,  that  it  can 
be  identified  with  any  bay,  cape,  promontory,  or  river  on  our 
coast.  The  verdict  of  history  on  this  point  is  plain,  and  must 
stand.  Imagination  and  fancy  have  their  appropriate  sphere, 
but  their  domain  is  fiction,  and  not  fact ;  romance,  and  not  his- 
tory ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  historical  student  to  hold  them 
within  the  limits  of  their  proper  field. 

But  there  is  yet  another  question  which  demands  an  answer. 
Did  the  Northmen  leave  on  this  continent  anv  monuments  or 
works  which  may  serve  as  memorials  of  their  abode  here  in  the 
early  part  of  the  eleventh  century .'' 

The  sources  of  evidence  on  this  point  must  be  looked  for  in 
the  sagas,  or  in  remains  which  can  be  clearly  traced  to  the 
Northmen  as  their  undoubted  authors. 

In  the  sagas,  we  are  compelled  to  say,  as  much  as  we  could 
desire  it  otherwise,  that  we  have  looked  in  vain  for  any  such 
testimony.  They  contain  no  evidence,  not  an  intimation,  that 
the  Northmen  constructed  any  mason  work,  or  even  laid  one 
stone  upon  another  for  any  purpose  whatever.  Their  dwell- 
ings, such  as  they  were,  were  hastily  thrown  together,  to  serve 
only  for  a  brief  occupation.     The  rest  of  their  time,  according 

^  If  the  reader  will  examine  our  coast-survey  maps,  he  will  easily  verify  this  statement. 


'.-asr.tii.-aipiwi'T- 


r..:.?vr'^im0S^*::: 


19 

to  the  general  tenor  of  the  narrative,  was  exclusively  devoted 
to  exploration,  and  to  the  preparation  and  laying  in  of  a  cargo 
for  their  return  voyage.  This  possible  source  of  evidence  yields 
therefore  no  testimony  that  the  Scandinavians  left  any  struct- 
ures which  have  survived  down  to  the  present  time,  and  can 
therefore  be  regarded  as  memorials  of  their  abode  in  this  coun- 
try. 

But,  if  there  is  no  evidence  on  this  point  in  the  sagas,  are 
there  to  be  found  to-day  on  any  part  of  our  Atlantic  coast 
remains  which  can  be  plainly  traced  to  the  work  of  the  North- 
men? 

This  question,  we  regret  to  say,  after  thorough  exarijination 
and  study,  the  most  competent,  careful,  and  learned  antiqua- 
ries have  been  obliged  to  answer  in  the  negative.  Credulity 
has  seized  upon  several  comparatively  antique  works,  whose 
origin  half  a  century  ago  was  not  clearly  understood,  and  has 
blindly  referred  them  to  the  Northmen.  Foremost  among 
them  were,  first,  the  stone  structure  of  arched  mason-work  in 
Newport,  Rhode  Island ;  second,  a  famous  rock,  bearing  in- 
scriptions, lying  in  the  tide-water  near  the  town  of  Dighton, 
in  Massachusetts  ;  and,  third,  the  "  skeleton  in  armor  "  found 
at  Fall  River,  in  the  same  state.  No  others  have  been  put 
forward  on  any  evidence  that  challenges  a  critical  examina- 
tion. 

The  old  mill  at  Newport,  situated  on  the  farm  of  Benedict 
Arnold,  an  early  governor  of  Rhode  Island,  was  called  in  his 
will  '•  my  stone  built  wind  mill,"  and  had  there  been  in  his 
mind  any  mystery  about  its  origin,  he  could  hardly  have  failed 
to  indicate  it  as  a  part  of  his  description.  Roger  Williams,  the 
pioneer  settler  of  Rhode  Island,  educated  at  the  University  of 
Cambridge,  England,  a  voluminous  author,  was  himself  an 
antiquary,  and  deeply  interested  in  everything  that  pertained  to 
our  aboriginal   history.     Had  any  building  of  arched  mason- 


I 


f( 


20 
work,  with  some  nrefpnc- 

-'  -«ve  ftiM  ,„  „e„.,o„  e  '  ';'"  """=  «>"'■  --e  couid 
"Pec.ed.and  m;  ,„,„„,  ^ustT  """"""""' ""^''>""'•'■ 
«-  'ilence  „„  ,h,  subject  "end  '"""'"   ""  '"'™"™- 

-ch  s,™c.„.e  could  haviheerth        "  "'°""^'  """■"  "'^'  "" 

"■hole,  or  any  pa„  „f  ,^        f^  "  "^  "'"  and  animals.     The 

*«  shapeless  traceries    Phi  ''^'"  ""^^  <«»«'-"ed  i„ 

R-ic  Characters  or Ittf^^";:";, "^"-'V   '=>""-.   -^ 
*-  ".adhere  and  there     e  ^Tt    ""^  '"""'"■''  '^ 
dental  resemblances.     But  no  rat        ,       "  "'  P'°*"''''j'  acci- 
^-"8.ve„,  and  it  seems      :,:;r      -"•""-'=«''"  "as  ever 
";«'  ."alified  to  judge,  thar fte' ar:;: "' 't"'*"  ^^«- 
Indians,  of  very  trivial  i™p„r,  ,/     °  *°  "°*  »' °'"-  "ative 
•»g  whatever.  '^    ''  '''  '"''==<'•  'hey  had  any  mean- 

The  "  skeleton  in  armor  "  <■       , 
''»™  than  the  rest  to      sTlnl";    ''  ""'"  ^"'"'  "^  -  "-er 
'»  <-  Human   hone,  wefe  X'rd  t"  "*'"•     ^'^  "-PPeared 
"metallic  bands  of  brass.    Its  a^ced  '  ""''*^"'"  "--"  ■" 
I'  ™ay  possibly  have  been  It*  /  ""  ""°"^  """"-n. 
east  upon  our  shore    who  """^  ^'^'^  "avigator 

■>-'  a  natural  death  'ardla:::'^"  """'  "'  "^  --- 
"-  ^l^"-   Or,  what  is  far  m  re    ";  ;■;  '"  '""'"  '"^  -"ich  he 
■■e-ainsofoneofourearly  Ind  aLo     ?  ■",  ""' '^^  "'"  *e 
wording  to  their  custom,  wth. he  o         '  ""  ""  '"  ^'"^' 
■  Altl,=.gh  „.„„.„„„,.  ^^;^.  "'^  "'■"'•"■="'«  of  brass,  wb,-,h 

"-or.,  v„,.  „',, ;  ";t  "■  «'■  o-ge  c.  „„„, ;,, ."  res:  7r*"' 


n-i 


21 

he  had  moulded  and  shaped  with  his  own  hands  while  liv- 
ing.* 

Could  the  veil  be  lifted,  some  such  stories  as  these  would 
doubtless  spring  up  from  the  lifeless  bones.  But  oblivion  has 
for  many  generations  brooded  over  these  voiceless  remains. 
Their  story  belongs  to  the  domain  of  fancy  and  imagination. 
Poetry  has  woven  it  into  an  enchanting  ballad.  Its  rhythm  and 
its  polished  numbers  may  always  please  the  ear  and  gratify  the 
taste.  But  history,  the  stern  and  uncompromising  arbiter  of  past 
events,  will,  we  may  be  sure,  never  own  the  creations  of  the  poet 
or  the  dreams  of  the  enthusiast  to  be  her  legitimate  oBspring. 

^  In  Professor  Putnam's  Report,  as  Curator  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  American 
ArchcBoIogy  and  Ethnology,  in  1887,  will  be  found  the  following  interesting  account 
of  the  "  Skeleton  in  Armor :  " 

"  I  must,  however,  mention  as  of  particular  interest  relating  to  the  early  period  of 
contact  between  the  Indians  and  Europeans  on  this  continent,  the  presentation,  by  Dr. 
Samuel  Kneeland,  of  two  of  the  brass  tubes  found  with  the  skeleton  of  an  Indian  near 
Fall  River,  about  which  so  much  has  been  written,  including  the  well  known  verses  by 
Longfellow,  entitled  '  The  Skeleton  in  Armor.'  That  two  of  the  '  links  of  the  armor' 
should  find  their  final  resting  place  in  this  Museum  is  interesting  in  itself,  and  calls  up 
in  imagination  the  history  of  the  bits  of  metal  of  which  they  are  made.  Probably  some 
early  emigrant  brought  from  Europe  a  brass  kettle,  which  by  barter,  or  through  the 
vicissitudes  of  those  early  days,  came  into  the  possession  of  an  Indian  of  one  of  the  New 
England  tribes  and  was  by  him  cut  up  for  ornaments,  arrow  points,  and  knives.  One 
kind  of  ornament  he  made  by  rolling  little  strips  of  the  brass  into  the  form  of  long, 
slender  cylinders,  in  imitation  of  those  he  had,  probably,  before  made  of  copper.  Tliese 
were  fastened  side  by  side  so  as  to  form  an  ornamental  belt,  in  which  he  was  buried. 
Long  afterwards,  his  skeleton  was  discovered  and  the  brass  beads  were  taken  to  be 
portions  of  the  armor  of  a  Norseman.  They  were  sent,  with  other  things  found  with 
them,  to  Copenhagen,  and  the  learned  men  of  the  old  and  new  world  wrote  and  sung 
their  supposed  history.  Chemists  made  analyses  and  the  truth  came  out ;  they  were 
brass,  not  bronze  nor  iron.  After  nearly  half  a  century  had  elapsed  these  two  little 
tubes  were  separated  from  their  fellows,  and  again  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  rest  by  the 
side  of  similar  tubes  of  brass  and  of  copper,  which  ha's  been  found  with  other  Indian 
braves  ;  and  their  story  shows  how  much  can  be  made  out  of  a  little  thing  when  fancy 
has  full  play,  and  imagination  is  not  controlled  by  scientific  reasoning,  and  conclusions 
are  drawn  without  comparative  study."  Vide  Twentieth  Annual  Report  of  the  Pea- 
body  Museum,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  543. 

In  an  article  on  "  Agricultural  Implements  of  the  New  England  Indians,"  Professor 
Henry  W.  Haynes,  of  Boston,  shows  that  the  Dutch  were  not  alloweU,,fo  barter  with  the 
Pequots,  because  they  sold  them  "  kettles"  and  the  like  with  which  they  made  arrow- 
heads." Vide  Proceedings  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History.  Vol.  XXII,  p.  439. 
In  later  times  brass  was  in  frequent,  not  to  say  common,  use  among  the  Indians. 


22 

ace"!;;::';;;:  X-r  :':r.  "-^ "« -^-  ■-=  bee„ 

'^"o^  ^as  been  sp„ef  J    ^^  '"  ""r"  '-^"'^^-     No 
conscientious  hteorian,  in  lell      ""■       '  '="'-"'"•"?.  and 

reasonably  identified  as  the  work  onhTM"";'""  """''^  "=""  '^ 
ever  have  been  f„„nd,  and  wTLav  !  r°  ""•  """'  *'""■ 
be  discovered,  that  can  bear  an^K  .        ''  "'"""  """  "<>"<'  "i" 

-n.wt  ,e,„.::-;~ 

"  's  the  office  and  duty  of  th^  w  .    . 
0-«nguish  .he  true  fro.'  the  f  , ''Tv  '"  "'"  "'-'  '''^^'  •" 
cbaff,  to  preserve  the  one  and  .f  ^'    °  t        "'='"  '■'"■»  ">« 
ion  to  which  i,  belong,.  ^"^  '^  "^er  to  the  obliv- 

Tested  by  the  canons  that  .1,. 
'"opeed  in  the  investiga  „„  ™"' f*"'""^ '='""''"  "'- 

"oubt  that  the  North^enll  '  ""'""''  "'  "»"« 

coast  ofA^erica  in  the  last  part  of  I  "  "''  ™^"^-  •"  "•e 
of  the  eleventh  centuries  •  thaMh  '"""'  ""''  ""  «■•«  Pa't 

-^f-  Of  .rapes  and  ti.bt'.hTr™^"  "  '^^-"'""^  -"• 
"•odity  in  the  ^^..^  '*='»«-  a  very  valuable  com- 

*eir  abode  on  our  shores  was  1!"™'"'!  ""'  '-""«' '  -at 
y  occupied  in  explorations      dZ"^^' '  """  *'^  *-c  most- 
'■■^''■•"g  any  permanent  colC    eTc  L";""""™"""'  '"  -""- 
■■>g»  they  erected  no  structure    „h!,  '""""'"'^  "^c"- 

;'0"c.     We  have  intimations  IT'olr  ""'"  "'  ""'"'  °'  "^ 
'h.s  continent,  but  no  detailed!  ''°^''^'''  ""•=  ""•de  to 

«■»  present  ti„,e.  ''  ""'"'"'  "^  «-»  has  survived  to 


I-  ( 


28 


These  few  facts  constitute  the  substance  of  what  we  know  of 
these  Scandinavian  discoveries.  Of  the  details  we  know  little  : 
they  are  involved  in  indefiniteness,  uncertainty,  and  doubt.  The 
place  of  their  first  landing,  the  location  of  their  dwellings,  the 
parts  of  the  country  which  they  explored,  are  so  indefinitely 
described  that  they  are  utterly  beyond  the  power  of  identifica- 
tion. 

But  I  should  do  injustice  to  the  subject  to  which  I  have  vent- 
ured to  call  your  attention,  if  I  did  not  add  that  writers  are  not 
wanting  who  claim  to  know  vastly  more  of  the  details  than  I 
can  see   my  way  clear  to  admit.     They  belong  to  that  select 
class  of  historians  who  are  distinguished  for  an  exuberance  of 
imagination  and  a  redundancy  of  faith.     It  is  a  very  easy  and 
simple  thing  for  them  to  point  out  the  land-fall  of  Leif,  the 
river  which  he  entered,  the  island  at  its  mouth,  the  bay  where 
they  cast  anchor,  the  shore  where  they  built  their  temporary 
houses,  the  spot  where  Thorvald  was  buried,  and  where  they 
set  up  crosses  at  his  head  and  at  his  feet.     They  tell  us  what 
headlands  were  explored  on  the  coast  of  Massachusetts  and 
Rhode  Island,  and  what  inlets  and  bays  were  entered  along  the 
shores  of  Maine.    The  narratives  which  they  weave  from  a  fer- 
tile brain  are  ingenious  and  entertaining :  they  give  to  the  sagas 
more  freshness  and  greater  personality,  but  when  we  look  for 
the  facts  on  which  their  allegations  rest,  for  anything  that  may 
be  called  evidence,  we  find  only  the  creations  of  an  undisci- 
plined imagination  and  an  agile  ftmcy. 

It  is,  indeed,  true  that  it  would  be  highly  gratifying  to  believe 
that  the  Northmen  made  more  permanent  settlements  on  our 
shores,  that  they  reared  spacious  buildings  and  strong  for- 
tresses of  stone  and  mason-work,  that  they  gathered  about  them 
more  of  the  accessories  of  a  national,  or  even  of  a  colonial  ex- 
istence ;  but  history  does  not  offer  us  any  choice  :  we  must  take 
what  she  gives  us,  and  under  the  limitations  which  she  imposes. 


24 

The  truth,  unadorned  and  without  exaggeration,  has  a  Seauty 
and  a  nobility  of  its  own.  It  needs  no  additions  to  commend  it 
to  the  historical  student.  If  he  be  a  true  and  conscientious 
investigator,  he  will  take  it  just  as  he  finds  it:  he  will  add 
nothing  to  it :  he  will  take  nothing  from  it 


t 


I!    .' 


»eauty 
end  it 
ntious 
1  add 


